Inspire a Northern Ireland colleague (7)
I believe the answer is:
animate
'inspire' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'a northern ireland colleague' is the wordplay.
'northern ireland' becomes 'NI' (abbreviation).
'colleague' becomes 'mate' (mate can mean a colleague or friend).
'a'+'ni'+'mate'='ANIMATE'
(Other definitions for animate that I've seen before include "Give life or movement to, as with a cartoon" , "Invigorate; alive" , "Eat main (anag.)" , "Provide inspiration" , "Living" .)